Conservative group demands removal of statue of Ancient Greek philosopher in Turkey’s Sinop

SİNOP

A local religious conservative foundation staged a protest in the Black Sea province of Sinop on Aug. 22, demanding the removal of a statue of Ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes.

The Erbakan Foundation said it was protesting the fact that the Greek ideology being attached to the province rather than arts.

“We are not against arts and sculptures. We are against the fact that they are attaching Greek ideology to Sinop under the cover of the statue. We want the Diogenes statue to be taken from the entrance of Sinop and moved to Balatlar [a local Byzantine church]. We will put in effort for this. We will struggle to the end, whether a petition or a permanent press statement here is required,” said İsmail Teziç, the foundation’s Sinop provincial representative.

Born in Sinope, modern-day Sinop, an Ionian colony on the Black Sea, in 412 or 404 BC, Diogenes is known as one of the founders of Cynic philosophy. He was also noted for having publicly mocked Alexander the Great.

After being captured by pirates and sold into slavery, Diogenes eventually settled in Corinth, Greece, where he died in 323 BC.